Karan Thapar recently shared some exciting insider accounts regarding his interview with PM Modi.
Often referred as Devil’s advocate, senior journalist Karan Thapar has developed a reputation as a pro-Congress journalist. However, some of his recent interviews done for online portal The Wire show a different Karan Thapar, the one who does not hesitate to refer Rahul Gandhi as “Pappu.”
Since the end of his contract with India Today group in April 2017, the Devil’s Advocate mostly writes opinion pieces for various newspapers and online news portals.
When it comes to Thapar’s interviews that are often talked about, attracted tension, and are remembered by audiences, his two and half minutes of interaction with Prime Minister Modi stands first in the list of top five.
Prime Minister Modi is often criticized for walking out of Karan Thapar’s show The Devil’s Advocate. However, the real story about that interview is something beyond the two minutes video which is available on YouTube.
During his recent interaction with Shoma Chaudhury at an event organized by Algebra, the senior journalist shared some interesting insider accounts about his shows.
While sharing details about the Modi interview, the formidable commentator said he visited Ahmedabad for the first time in his life due to the same. As soon as he landed at the airport, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi called him and greeted him. The CM also urged him to come early so that both of them can enjoy a cup of tea before recording the episode.
“We enjoyed the cup of tea, and the then CM was extremely chatty and friendly. But, as I started my show with the first question about 2001-2002 riots, he became visibly upset. Perhaps, I could have used a tactful way to approach the subject. My first question was a bit blunt. I could have asked it later,” said Thapar.
Modi asked for a glass of water and requested Thapar to discontinue the interaction. This is something that the audiences have already seen in the video. However, the interesting trivia is that the then Gujarat chief minister did not leave; in fact, he served dhokla and sweets to the journalist and continued chatting. Karan spent 45 minutes in convincing Modi to proceed with the interview while eating together.
“We ate sweets together, but after 45 minutes, I had to leave as I had a flight. I also told the then chief minister that Rajdeep might run the first two minutes of the interview again and again, and it will be remembered by people forever. But, Modi was firm on his decision to not to complete the interview.”
The surprising aspect is that even in spite of the failed interview, Modi said Thapar was like his brother, and they would enjoy dinner together when he visits Delhi.
It’s clear that the formidable commentator has realized his mistake and he still hopes that Prime Minister Modi would give him an exclusive interview one day.
Further, read more:
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